1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to hospital gowns to be worn by a patient while in a hospital, particularly when undergoing diagnostic procedures, in a doctor's examination room, or while otherwise undergoing in- or out-patient medical treatment or diagnostic procedures.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed under 37 CFR 197-1.99.
Hospital gowns have long been the bane of physician and patient both, although from different perspectives and for different reasons. Physicians and hospital personnel prefer a gown that minimizes obstruction of their physical access to the patient's body, is relatively inexpensive and susceptible to manufacture and use in generic sizes, and is easy to use to dress and undress patients who might otherwise have difficulty in donning and removing the garment. Hospital gowns without sleeves, loose-fitting and with either an open back and ties or simple metal snaps for securing the garment about the patient, as are known to the art, are the gown of choice from that viewpoint.
The manner of securing the garment may have a negative impact upon both the patient and other hospital personnel. While patients often prefer the ease of metal snaps, or even zippers, such devices provide a source of undesired interference and confusion to diagnostic procedures. This is particularly so where a gowned patient is to undergo X-ray or computerized axial tomograph analysis, as well as the newer nuclear and magnetic resonance imaging techniques. Cloth ties, while obviating these diagnostic difficulties, tend to lie in inaccessible areas of the body in the known hospital gowns, such as along the patient's back. This makes donning and doffing of the garment by oneself virtually impossible. The known gown closure systems using ties tend to bridge the major opening in the garment with those ties. This leaves a gap in the garment, particularly as the ties loosen, which tends to expose portions of the patient's body-- particularly the areas societally identified as the "private parts".
This last shortcoming--the inability to maintain coverage of the body in the manner of choice--is the biggest drawback from a patient's viewpoint. The difficulty in dressing and undressing oneself, taken with the general unattractiveness of the known loose, blousy, non-formfitting gowns, were also severe shortcomings.
The prior art suggested a variety of solutions to these problems. See, e.g., Barron U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,434; Blume U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,398; Bradley U.S. Pat. No. 3,745,587; Belkin U.S. Pat. No. 3,729,747; Keltner U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,072; Hoegerman U.S. Pat. No. 3,464,063; Bradley U.S. Pat. No. 3,399,406; Zimmon U.S. Pat. No. 3,353,189; Richter U.S. Pat. No. 3,218,649; Derrick U.S Pat. No. 3,155,984; Severance U.S. Pat. No. 2,331,051; A. C Daniels Great Britain Pat. No. 1,062,516; Philips U.S. Pat. Des. No. 263,345; Banks U.S. Pat. Des. No. 236,293; and Snider U.S. Pat. Des. No. 233,634. None of the hospital gowns disclosed, however, solved the problems and shortcomings from the standpoints of the physician and hospital personnel, medical diagnostic personnel, and the patient.
There existed a definite need in the art for a novel hospital gown. The optimum combination of properties for such a gown would comprise:
(1) A gown having fasteners which did not interfere in any manner with the carrying out of medical diagnostic or analysis procedures with respect to the patient while wearing it, yet which were easy to secure and release by either an unaided patient or medical and hospital personnel;
(2) The gown would be relatively inexpensive, while still affording attractiveness and form fit despite its being fashioned so as to allow generic or "one size fits all" sizing;
(3) Maximum coverage of the patient's body, particularly private areas, would be afforded, but physical access to the patient's body would be readily gained when necessary to the physician's examination or other treatment of the patient;
(4) No gaps or open joints between gown edges would be provided, whether along closure portions or otherwise; and
(5) The hospital gown could be made of a fabric-like and/or sterilizable material.
None of the hospital gowns now available provide this optimum combination of properties.